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Role of Technology in Long-Term Care

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Find three articles describing the role technology will play in addressing the challenges ahead in long-term care. Summarize your findings and based on your learning, respond to the following questions:

Which challenges in long-term care system remain unmet? Why?
What changes can we expect to occur with the influx of baby boomers entering into the long-term care system?
Why do you think technology is important to long-term care? Support your answer with relevant examples.
What are the pros and cons of the implementation of technology in long-term care? Consider both providers and consumers while describing.
How does technology improve the type and quality of care received by long-term care consumers?
How important is the commitment by top management for the use of information technology in long-term care to be successful? Why?
How can the challenges be proactively addressed as opposed to being reactive?
Legal and Ethical Issues: Case Study

Cathy Smith, an eighty-eight-year-old woman, was admitted to the emergency room from the nursing facility with acute respiratory distress. Although Smith does not have a living will, her daughter Rose, a health care professional, has the power of attorney (POA) to make her mother's health decisions.

Smith suffers from end-stage Alzheimer's disease and recently experienced congestive heart failure. Her condition is alarming. The doctors want to place her on life-support equipment, including a ventilator. Smith's son, Andrew, agrees with the doctor's decision. However, Rose states her mother would never want to be placed on life-support machines to prolong her life.

Analyze the scenario and answer the following questions:

What are the autonomy-beneficial conflicts between Rose and Andrew related to placing their mother on life support in this case? Who has the right to make the decision on behalf of the client? Why?
What are the ethical issues related to the competency and decision-making capacity of the client while making the health care decisions? Do these issues impact the services offered in long-term care? How?
What are some of the critical issues related to informed consent? Who has the right to assume this responsibility? Why?

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Solution Summary

Technology is important in long term care because it can be used to provide efficient care without the need for hard copy notes and records. Technologies like touchscreens and graphic user interface have made it possible for healthcare staffs and nurses to get access to patients information quicker. The development and accessibility of data communications has allowed us to access data and to perform mobile computing.

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Role of Technology in Long-Term Care
find three articles describing the role technology will play in addressing the challenges ahead in long-term care. Summarize your findings and based on your learning, respond to the following questions:

Which challenges in long-term care system remain unmet? Why?

The challenges in long term care system that remain unmet are the workforce shortages. The demand for long term care exceeds the supply of qualified workers who can deliver those services, resulting in severe shortages of workers in healthcare. Today, there are far more fewer nurses and paraprofessional workers in long term care. About 91 percent of nursing homes lack enough of staff for basic care. Expert estimated that there will be more shortages of aides in long term care, and there will be about 30 percent shortages of aides in long term care by 2010. Rapid turnover among home care workers also contribute to the inadequate staffing levels. Home health aides ern low wages, about only $10,000 to $14,000 a year.

What changes can we expect to occur with the influx of baby boomers entering into the long-term care system?

Baby boomers will comprise the largest aging population ever and they will also live longer than their parents. This will have a great impact and strain on health services and current government programs like Medicare and Medicaid . They will live longer, and about 70 percent of people age 65 or older are needing long term care. Boomers are changing long term care by not preparing for it while it is still affordable. Since cost of long term care increases with age, purchasing insurance for it is most affordable before retirement. Baby boomers wishes to remain independent in their own homes; this will increase the demand for in home long term care. Staying in the home might require a professional caregiver or ...

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